That's what friends are for
by Tom Stiles
Summary: Like so many of you I wasn't happy with the original ending. So here's mine. Watch out this is about Danny, Rafe and Evelyn-and it's trying to be realistic-yeah, right!
1. Default Chapter

Hi you all, as so many of you I didn't like the ending of pearl harbour. It's very dramatic but I don't like it at all-so here's my version. Enjoy! I tried to be realistic-well a little at least.  
  
The look on his face reveiled pure helplessness as he looked away from his best friend in search of some way to help him. A thousand possibilities came to his mind but each of them wasn't going to work. In his arms Danny started shaking. He hadn't felt the pain as much before but now it shot through him like an arrow. All he could do was cry out in pain. Terrified Rafe looked back at him and was shocked by his pale features and the amount of blood spreading on the yellow safety jacket and his uniform. Rafe tried to sound as confident as possible:" Don't worry, Danny. I'm gonna find a way to get us both out of here. You'll be fine." Danny pressed his eyes closed and bit his lip to avoid another scream, then he pressed out:"Better find it fast!" So far shock and fear had gotten the better of Rafe but now his training started to kick in. So he carefully placed his friend on the ground and whispered:"I'm not leaving you here, not in a million years. You're gonna be fine!"  
With that he stood up, holding his gun with shaking fingers. The night surrounded them. He couldn't see any more movements just the warm breeze moving a few leafes here and there.  
Helplessly he muttered:"Shit!" With his gun still at the ready, he got back on his knees next to the other pilot. He was shaking from pain:"Rafe, this is unbearable. I have to throw up!" he turned his head but he didn't thow up.  
Rafe shook his head in despair. How could this possibly have happend. How could they both have gotten in a situation like this. They knew it could happen but they never expected it. He let his head sink and burried his face in his hands, which were covered in Danny's blood.  
"Rafe..." Danny whispered. He tried to get a glimpse of his wound to find out how bad it was. From what he felt like, he could tell it was serious but he wanted to see it, so he tried to open his jacket, which turned out to be a great mistake because as soon as he moved his left arm a wave of pain shot trhough his whole body and he almost blacked out. After a few seconds his vision came back.  
Rafe had turned towards him and saw that a few tears ran down Danny's cheeks:"What are you doing. Lay still! I'm gonna go get help!"  
"No!" Danny pressed out and reached for his hand: "Don't leave me!"  
Rafe put his chin forward and made a decision:"I'm not leaving you here. I'll come back with help."  
With that he stood up, when a voice behind him made him jump:"You're not going anywhere, Lt. McCawley." Rafe spun around and looked into Col. Doolittles face. He had blood and dirt on his face, his uniform was torn and he had lost his hat. Behind him 3 of his crew and Red, who had run away as Rafe had told him, appeared:"I saw Walker's machine go down here. Where's you crew and ...?" His gaze fell on Danny on the ground. He pushed past Rafe and got on his knees next to him:"Walker! Where are you hit?" While he asked he checked his pulse and cursed:"McCawley, damn it. Haven't you learned anything besides flying?" He quickly opened Danny's jacket and shirt just to reveil a huge amount of blood coming from two bullet wounds-one in his left shoulder, the other one in his side." The Colonell threw down a pack, he could save from his plane, pulled out a few bandages and applied them with pressure, which caused Danny to shout out in pain.  
"Shut up!" he ordered:"If you want to get out of here alive, shut up. There's Japs all over this damn place." He saw the terrified and pained expression in Danny's eyes:"I have to apply pressure so you don't loose too much blood and now get up!" Rafe couldn't beleive what he had just heard:"What? Sir, I think.."  
Doolittle turned around and hissed:"I don't give a damn what you think! We'll get him out! Now. Give me a hand!"  
While Rafe bent down to grab Danny under his arm, a thought crossed Danny's mind. Should he tell them to leave him and save their own butt? No, he didn't want to be left behind, he wanted to get through this and have the possibility to see Evelyn again. This thought gave him so much faith and energy, that he pushed himself up when Rafe and Doollitle pulled him to his feet. The next second his vision went black and his knees gave in like pudding. Red suddenly studdered out a terrified warning, which made the other 3 soldiers spin around:"Ttthheerrree...lights....th tht aaatt aarrree jajajaps!"  
"Quick! Run!" Doolittle order. While he and Rafe practically dragged Danny along, his men ran ahead with their weapons drawn. While they were running, the Col. Shouted:" Are there...any other ..survivors."   
"No, sir!"  
They stumbled across the field away from the plane. In a distance of about 300 meters, they paused for a second allowing themselves to catch their breath.  
Breathing heavily the sat with their backs against a few trees.  
In the distance they could see a few lights and the giant shadow of the crashed air plane. There they would have been an easy target.  
The night wasn't as dark anymore as morning was slowly approaching.  
Rafe touched Danny's hand to feel for his pulse. It was weak but there. Suddenly Evelyn came to his mind. How would this all end? How would she cope if both of them didn't make it home? Who would be a father for her unborn baby? Probably she didn't even know that they had crashed and that Danny practically had saved his life. He looked at his friend again and all his anger and hard feelings towards him were gone. He only hoped Danny would survive and everything should be like it was before.  
Danny, who had become conscious again, brought him out of his thoughts:"Rafe!" he winced.  
Red had watched them from nearby and now saw Dolittle tiptoeing towards them, who had assessed the situation and had decided that they would move on as quickly as possible:"Walker, try again, to stand up!" Danny nodded. This time he didn't pass out. He managed to get on his feet with two of the other mens help.   
"We have to get to that forest, before sunrise to make it harder to find us."  
"Maybe they're not even looking for us. Maybe they think everbody has died in the crashs."  
"Maybe isn't good enough , Seargant! I'm responsible for you!"  
Slowly they made their way towards a hill with quite dense forrest on it. When they reached it they gave Danny and one of the other soldiers, who had a bad injury on his arm from Doolittles touch down. After a few minutes they moved into the woods, where they mereged with the shadows.  
After a few changes of direction, one of Doolittles men mumbled:"Here's a cave, look! We can hide here!"  
Carefully he the Col. Stuck his head inside and then stepped in. After a few moments, he decided:"We're gonna hide in here."  
Rafe was releived to stop. He wasn't sure if Danny could make it any further and if they got involved in a fight, he would have been lost.  
The men carefully felt their way inside as it was pitchblack in the cave. When they had gotten far enough into the cave, they all sat down on the clumsy ground. On the contrary to the air outside, the air in here was pretty cool.  
From somewhere a small ray of light shone into the cave giving them just enough light to see what was exactly next to them. Silence spread. Only a few painfully drawn breaths broke the silence.  
Rafe carefully placed his best friend onto the ground and got down next to him. He placed his hand on him and could feel how he was shivering. Eager to know how he was doing, he got very closed to his head and whispered:"Danny....Danny! How are you?"  
Danny opened his brown eyes to look at him. The he whispered:"Can you tell Evelyn I love her?"  
These few simple words shocked Rafe so much that he could feel it in his fingertips. He slowly shoof his head and tried to clear his choked up throat:"No, you tell her that yourself."  
Danny closed his eyes again and reached for his friends hand.  
Red had gotten close. He didn't want to disturb them but Danny was his friend, a close friend, to be honest. He cleared his throat behind them and asked:"How is he?"  
Rafe didn't turn around. He had layed down next to his friend:"Not good, Red."  
"I'm cold...very." Danny moaned. Red immediately took of his jacket and gave it to Rafe to cover Danny.  
Then the silence filled the room again. It was awful. But nobody dare to say anything. The men drew their uniforms closer and sat quietly.  
Doolittle's voice finally broke the silence:"I think you've all done a good job. You were told that this might be a never-come-back mission and I'm afraid that it turned out to really be one. I'm sorry about that!"  
After a few awkward seconds Red asked: "What..ddoo you meann? Do you wawawant to give up?"  
"However!" the Col. Continued. "You wouldn't be the men I got to know if you gave up now. We will fight and we will make it....All of us!"  
Another moment passed.  
The he continued:"How are we gonna make it? We've got a few contact men in China. These men have been informed about our raid and I'm sure they are already on their way. We have to find them or they have to find us before the Jap's do. That's the plan."  
"Yes, but how are we gonna find them, Colonel?" one man asked.  
"We'll see tomorrow night. Right now we can't go outside because it's light and we'd be spotted immediately. So we'll try to sleep. McAllister, yours is the first watch. "  
"But Colonell. We can't sleep right now!" Rafe protested.  
"Yes, you can and you will. You'll need all your strenght for tomorrow night!"  
Despite all protest Doolittle order them to got to sleep. They had trusted him so far and decided that they sould gon on trusting him knowing several wild war stories, where he had managed to save his men-mostly in the air but still.   
Rafe held Danny's hand while his thoughts circled around Evelyn and the baby mostly. Danny didn't even know about it and Rafe wasn't sure whether to tell him or not. He decided not to because he was convinced his friend would make it and that Evelyn should tell him herself.  
Danny caughed a bit and then let out a moan. Rafe glanced over to him. He could see that his eyes were closed. He fixed his gaze on his best friend's features thinking about their childhood together and how they had always stood up for each other-most times at least. It hadn't always been all rosy, they had had their fights but being friends for such a long time had let them become very close although the fact that Evelyn and Danny had gotten together had changed something. Still, they were friends. With these thoughts, he drifted into a light sleep.  
Danny heard Rafe's steady breath. He couldn't sleep. Seemingly endless pain attacks were shaking his body, he felt terribly sick and cold like never before. He also thought about Evelyn. He wanted to be with her so much right now. Why wasn't she there. They only person he really wanted near right now. Slowly he tried to move his right hand to his side to see whether it was still bleeding. He touch his side and then looked at his hand. He couldn't see much, so that was good.  
The next thing he knew was being woken up by anxious screams:"The Japs!"  
Men around him jumped up or froze in their steps as they were surrounded by men carrying guns and riffles. One couldn't see their faces in the dim light but their harsh voices sounded in a starnge language. Various orders were shouted until a light was shone at them, which completely blinded them. The Doolittle men jumped about like scared chooks searching for their weapons, when suddenly a voice shouted out a command and then said with a strange accent in English:"Stop. Identify yourselfs." Danny shot a questioning look at Rafe, who looked back in the same way. Colonell Doolittle stepped in front of his men:"CoL. Doolittle, US Air Force."  
The other man said:"Thought so. I need the name of your mission."  
"Wild geese."  
"Alright. I'm Huang Cho, I think you know who I am." He order his men to lower his weapons.  
"We will get you and bring you to our base as soon as it get's dark. Until then we can just hope that the Japanese won't find us all in here."  
A few hours later all of them very slowly and carefully made their way through the woods being led by their contact man. Rafe and Red has decided to carry Danny as he was now very weak. This proofed to be rather exhausting and difficult considering his height. But Rafe was determined not to leave him behind no matter how hard it would be.  
A few times they had to duck down and hide behind small hills of dirt and trees. It turned out to be only falls alarms. After about two hours of creeping through the bush, they finally reached the car, the men had come with. It was well hidden under tree branches.  
Carefully Danny was placed on the back of it. Most of the men exhaustedly sat back there with him. So did Rafe as the car finally started to move. He slit down and grabbed Danny hand again. He didn't return his grip. Rafe eagerly asked:"Danny! Hey, Danny."A shock went through his body. He checked Danny's pulse but couldn't find it:"Danny, damn! Danny!!!"  
The other men had turned to see what was happening. Rafe held his breath and place his hand on Dannys chest to feel whether he was breathing but the car was shalking too much to notice. With tears in his eyes, he put his ear next to Danny's nose, when he heard an almost unnoticatble drawing of a breath. Rafe close his eyes, tears of relief rolling down his dirty face.  
After what seemed an eternity they arrived in a small village somewhere in a valley just before the crack of dawn.  
The quickly were brought inside, where a few men and women were waiting for them. The houses were made of bamboo and mud. The one they were lead into had only three rooms.  
Doolittle tried to assess the situation, while his completely exhausted men sank to the ground. They hadn't slept well, hadn't eaten or drunken in almost two days and most of them were injured in one or the other way. He frowned. Then he turned towrads Rafe, who had just brought Danny in together with Red. Their contact men approached them quickly:"I've seen one of your men is seriously injured. Please bring him in here. He directed them into another house, where they found a low table. A man and two women were waiting for them:"This is Dr. Huang, he is an old friend of mine and on our side. He came up here to help you and your men."  
The man motioned for Rafe and Red to put their wounded comrade on the table. They exchanged a few insecure glances but decided that they had no choice and put him down.  
The doctore said something in Chinese, which Cho translated as:"He asks you to leave."  
Rafe shook his head:"No way, I'm staying."  
"I think you should go." Col. Doolittle suggested:"Let them do their job."  
Rafe straightened up in front of his superior:" Is that an order?"  
The Colonel looked him straight in the eye. In any other situation, he would have said yes but he knew Rafe's stubbornness as well as his extraordinary friendship with Danny. So he simply shook his head and turned around to go.  
Rafe turned towards his friend again and saw that the women had taken off Danny's clothes, and hooked him up to what looked like an IV. Rafe didn't trust his eyes.  
Cho said:"Trust them. He studdied medicine, he's gonna do his best." Rafe watched them undo the bandages and turn him onto his stomache when the doctor started to examine the wound with his hand, Rafe suddenly felt his knees get week and his stomache turn upside down and esoite the fact that he hadn't eaten in days, he had to dash outside and throw up in front of the house.  
He slid down to the ground and burried his head in his hands. A few minutes later he decided not to go back in but join the others, who were just having something to eat and drink, which they swallowed hungrily.  
Rafe couldn't eat for the next half an hour but then his hunger got the better of him. Lost in toughts Rafe chewed on a piece of bread when he heard a scream from the other house. It was Danny's voice. Rafe jumped up knocking over his plate and ran outside. He stormed into the other house and stopped dead in his tracks, when his saw Danny with his shoulder covered in blood but awake. Two women helped him sit up and wrapped his shoulder and side with new bandages.  
Danny drousily looked at Rafe. His brown eyes didn't really focus on him and he looked very spaced out, when the laid him bacl down.  
Rafe swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly walke over to his friend. Cho was already in there. He held him back and said:"Give him some time. The doctor has done his best. Let him rest."  
Confused Rafe looked at Danny, who was no seemingly asleep and then to the people in the room:"Is he gonna be alright? What has he...I mean, you know. Is he alright?"  
"The doctor said he took out the bullet in his shoulder from the back but he couldn't reach the other one without your friend loosing too much blood."  
Rafe stood there helplessly:"And? That means?"  
"We just have to wait and see. He's lost a lot of blood." Behind them the doctor asked something.  
Rafe wanted to know:"What, what has he asked?"  
"Do you know your blood type?"  
Rafe let out a sigh:"Yes, of course! We have the same: take me blood!"  
The doctor nodded as if had understood. Soon one of the women took some blood from Rafe, whih reminded him of the time at the hospital where they had give blood together. Then his blood was prepared and give to Danny. Rafe sat and watched for over and hour. Doolittle had come in and brought Rafe a bottle of water. Then everybody left because they had to help the others as well. Rafe sat next to Danny on the ground and held his hand. He leaned onto the table and rested his head there. On Danny's forehead sweat was showing because the night was extremely humid. The sounds of the dschungle came in through the non existent windows the night slowly became day. Rafe had fallen asleep. He woke with a start after only 5 hours. His first thought was Danny, who was still next to him, breathing weakily but steadily.  
Rafe decided not to wake him but look for the others. He found Red on a rock near the last house. He stared into the green of the dschungle. Rafe sat down next to him:"Are you allright?"  
Red nodded:"Just a few bruises and scratches? You? How's Daniel?"  
Rafe was tempted to say'fine' how you usually do without thinking, he looked into the dschungle as well:"I don't know."  
Red nodded:" Do you thihtink we will get out of hehehere?"  
Rafe didn't reply cause he didn't know how the would ever get away from here without their planes but he also knew the needed to because Danny needed a hospital and sooner or later the Japanese would find them and shoot them all.  
The Colonel had walked up behin them:"May I sit down? Can't you sleep?"  
"No, sir."  
"We're working on getting us out of here, back to Hawaii."  
With that he stood up and went away leaving behind two rather confused pilots.  
Later that day Danny woke up. Before he even opened his eyes, the terrible pain in his shoulder and side reminded him of what had happened. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted because the sunlight was shining directly into them. For a while he just lay still traing to figure out what had happened withing the last day and whether he'd be getting better or worse. After falling back to sleep and waking up again a few hours later, he made an attempt to get up but failed miserably.  
Rafe had found him asleep before and left again but now nobody was here. Only the sounds of the dschungle, humidity and the sun. He was alone.  
He fell asleep again. When he woke up again, the picture hadn't changed.  
With a hoarse voice he said:"Hello, is anybody here....hello. can you hear me?" He looked around but saw nobody. Had they left him? He'd never see her again-Ev- if they'd left him. He tried to sit up and succeeded. Drousily he studied the room and then he saw that he wore only his uniform pants and boots and was wrapped up in bandages. Trying to suppress the pain, he attempted to get up it was too much. He hissed:"Shit!" While he laid back down knocking his head and shoulder on the hard table, he winced:"Aw!" then he heard voices in a distance.  
It didn't take long until somebody stormed into the room. It was Col. Doolittle closely followed by Rafe. Danny smiled:"Rafe! I almost thought you were gone." He voice was bearly understandable because his throat was so dry. Rafe ran to him a huge smile on his face, he grabbed his hand:"Danny! You're awake! Do you think I'd go without you? No way-after I practically carried you here!"  
"Here, where's here?"  
"A village, where they helped us-you!"  
Doolittle handed Rafe the waterbottle again:"Give him some and safe your story for later."  
More and more Chinese people and Red filled the room. Excitement filled the air-excitement over Danny having woken up and something else.  
"We're going home."  
His gentle tone, while he was giving Danny a sip to drink, which he gratefully drank, was interrupted by Doolittles serious tone:"But if we want to get home, we have to go immediately! Are you up to that Lt. Walker." He kept his hard military tone to motivate and push his guys in situations like these."  
"I don't know, sir." Danny shily replied.  
"You'd better be! Try to stand up." Danny shot him an unbeleiving look from his brown eyes. He saw seriousness in the other man's, so he slowly nodded. Rafe reached under his right arm pit and supported him as good as possible. Slowly sat up and the stood up:"Wait Rafe, I'm seeing stars." He paused:"Alright. Let's do it!" Biting his lip stood up. He just stood. Then slowly he put one foot in front of the other until they reached the outside of the house where the were greated by Red, the other three soldiers and the rest of the village. Danny stood up in the doorframe looking like a true survivor. He was only wearing dirty pants and combat boots, he was bandaged up and his chest and face were covered in dirt and dried blood, his hair was ruffled but there was a huge smile on his face.  
"Allright, let's get going!" Doolittle said, who couldn't hide a little smile himself.  
Soon they all sat in the two only cars in the village and drove on a small winding raod through the dschungle.  
Cho shouted over the engine noise:"My men have checket the roads and this one appears to be clear but better have your weapons ready." He had supplied them with rifles because most of them had lost their weapons during the crash." The bumps in the road hurt Danny badly although he had been given some Chinese medicine by the doctor. He wasn't completely aware of what was going on due to the medicine but he could still feel the pain. Moaning he leaned agains Rafe, who was next to him, who petted his back:"Hold on, boy. We're gonna be at the coast soon."  
And he was right. They were at the coast soon. The road followed a cliff. In a distance the ycould already see a small harbour.  
Rafe looked at the sun going down, when suddenly the glass next to his head shattered and a bullet flew past him. Seconds later the bullets were flying around them like hail. Rafe heard screams and shouting. He knocked the window out with the back of his gun and started shooting at the Japs hiding behind the rocks near the cliffs. The others were defending themselves, too sending pieces of stone off the rocks. The sound of the guns and shouts was terrible.  
A minute later they were out of the reach of the Japanese.   
Doolittle shouted:"Is everybody alright?" He looked at his men and tried to get a glimpse of the second car behind them. Everybody seemed fine. They still had to go down a hill and one tyre was flat. Adrenalin rushed through their bodies as they descended down the hill at hight speed with the car winding like a snake. Fortunately they made it down the hill and to the pier where a small boat was already waiting for them. The men jumped of the back of the pick up and ran towards the boat. Rafe practically dragged Danny out of the car and towards the boat, while the Col. Shouted:"Get moving, faster. They are coming, I can see them up the hill." Danny stumbled more than he walked and Rafe lost his balance sending them both to the ground, while Cho had reached the boat. The engine was running. Col. Doolittle had ordered everbody to get aboard and then ran back to help Rafe. He simply grabbed Danny's arm and pulled him up together with Rafe not caring whether he was hurting him. He didn't want to leave these two behind so close before being rescued. Behind theri cars the Japanese brought their car to a halt with squeeking tires and already started firing. Rafe pushed Danny on board, who fell to the floor and stayed where he was breathing heavily. Rafe and Doolittle dived in after him, when the engine roared up and the boat sped of.  
"Lay down! Heads down!"  
The bullets hit the wood of the boat while it sped away. Two soldiers fired back but they were soon out of reach.   
On the bottom of the boat Rafe took a deep breath and glanced at Doolittle who let out a sigh.  
Rafe the turned towards Danny, who turned onto his back with pain written plainly across his face.  
When he saw Rafe's look he had to smile. Rafe returned his smile. After a while of great releive, he said:" I told you, I'd save your ass!"  
Danny nooded, still abig grin on his face:"Yes, you did!"  
  
There's more to come, so keep hanging in there. I wrote this tonight and it was a bit of work, I must say, but good fun,too, as I have't written any stories in a while. I'd love a detailed review!!!! 


	2. Out on the ocean

You want it? You get it!  
Thank you, guys, for reviewing. I'm very happy to read that you like my story and that someone actually reads it! So give me more of those reviews-please add what you like and what not- and you'll take care of me being productive! Cheers, mates!  
This time I've checked for mistakes, bare with me -my native language isn't English;-)  
  
Out on the ocean  
  
The waves of the ocean gently rocked the boat. Doolittle's men were laying all over it recovering from the past 3 days. If they hadn't been through what they'd been through, one could even see this as a holiday picture. The sun was burning down on them as they passed around a bottle of water. At a closer look one could tell that these guys weren't on holidays. They wore dirty, torn uniforms, had their faces and bodies covered in dirt, were wounded and one of them was eagerly trying to get a connection on the radio:" USS Hampshire, can you hear us? Please, can anybody hear me? Please, come!"  
The only reply was static. He repeated his call-over and over again, while the small boat continued south.  
Danny glanced into the sky. It looked exactly like on the beach of Pearl. When he and Evelyn had been for a swim in the beautiful ocean for the first time relaxing and forgetting about Rafe's tragedy. It was then on the beach, looking up in the bright blue sky when he had felt completely happy. He had turned and looked into her blue eyes and she had smiled back at him without the usual sadness in her eyes. This moment had been engraved into his memory as one of the most wonderful moments.  
His thoughts were brought back to reality by the desperate calls of the seargant on the radio:"Damn, I can't beleive we made it out of there and now we're stuck on the ocean.  
Carefully Danny lifted his head and saw Rafe gazing over the wafes. He also looked into the same direction but couldn't see anything but water. Maybe Rafe was thinking about Evelyn as well. How must he feel? Knowing that when he was beleived to be dead, Evelyn and himself had gotten together-more than Rafe and her had ever been.  
She was his only love and she was Danny's only love. Danny cleared his throat:"Hey Rafe." Rafe nodded and turned towards him:"Yeah?"  
Danny didn't know how to say what was on his mind or whether to say it at all. He struggled with himself. Rafe saw his expression and came closer. He sat down closely by his side:"Hey."  
Unable to find the right words, Danny looked away. Then he met his gaze again and simply said:"Thank you! For saving me."  
Rafe had to smile:"Danny...." He shook his head:" Thank YOU for saving me! You wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't decided to play the hero and save me.." He smiled:"Thank you!"  
His wounded friend smirked:" That's right." Then his smile changed into seriousness:"Rafe, I...I want to tell you that I'm sorry. We really though you were dead. We didn't know you'd come back. It was hard -for both of us. We waited forever-avoiding each other but then, one night, it suddenly happened, I fell in love with her." Rafe looked away from his friend over the ocean thinking about how unfair it was. He couldn't even blame him, Evelyn was gorgeous. He simply whispered:" I know."  
A minute of uncomfortable silence passed, then Rafe turned to his friend and honestly said:" We'll work it out." then he got up and said more loudly:" We're not even safe yet!"   
Danny followed him with his eyes.  
For hours the small boat drifted on the ocean, when they started the engine again and refilled it:"That's our last can of fuel, sir."  
Red explained. Col. Doolittle frowned:" I know. Keep sending radio messages. Go!"  
Red nodded and told another man to continue radioing.  
As evening approached, dark clouds turned the sky into an ocean of grey. The wind had picked up and their boat was now being rocked quite massively, when cool rain set it.  
They had stopped the engine to save fuel and only a small battery operated light shone the way. "Hang on to the ropes of the boat! I don't want anybody falling overboard." the Col ordered while pulling his jacket over his head. It didn't help much. The rain soaked them quickly, while the boat swayed up and down, right to left and back.  
Rafe had crawled next to Danny covering their heads with his jacket. Danny started to get cold because he was only wearing pants. Beside him Rafe fought his seasickness.  
"You look a bit pale, buddy!" Danny joked. His friend didn't think that was very funny and coldly replied:" Don't tell me anything about looking pale, if you could see yourself in the mirror. Ev's gonna get a shock."  
" If we ever get home." the younger pilot mumbled.  
They hadn't gotten an replies. Neither land nor another ship was in sight. They were drifting lost on the ocean.   
When the waves increased, they had to hold on firmly to the ropes, which were attached to the sides of the boat. Giant salty waves splashed over them with enough force to throw anybody overboard, who wasn't prepared. Somebody mumbled:" Why this now? How are they supposed to find us?"  
Somebody else hummed a song to calm his nerves and a third soldier, threw up overboard because he couldn't hold it any longer.  
They only hoped that the boat wouldn't flip.  
Rafe and Danny lay closely together holding on to the rope, Rafe trying to warm Danny's shaking body with his own:" Damn, now I know why I always wanted to be a pilot and not a sailor." He said through gritted theeth. Rafe had closed his eyes. He only could think of France-the bottom of the ocean, the plane crash-Evelyn. No, not again:" We'll make it!" he suddenly exclaimed full of confidence.  
Suddenly a giant wave hit the boat and moved it to the side. A scream. The wet rope slowly slipped through their desperate grasp while the boat attempted to completely roll over. Danny felt his strenght fade under the pain from his wounds. Just before the next wave could hit the nutshell and completely tip it over, it fell back into it's original position. Rafe and Danny threw the jacket away and looked around for the others. Who had screamed? Had somebody been thrown overboard? Then they suddenly saw Red jump up. Over the sound of the storm Rafe shouted:"Sit down,idiot! Grab the rope!" But instead Red jumped into the ocean on the other side of the boat. Both of his friends saw it in horror, when all of a sudden they spotted his head again in between the masses of water about 5 meters from the boat. He was dragging somebody else. As quick as he could Rafe fumbled the knot of the rope open, grabbed it, moved to the edge of the boat and tried to spot Red, who was struggling to keep his and the other person's heads over water.   
His head dissapeared in between the giant grey mass of water. Then it came up again, so Rafe shouted over the noise of the storm:" Red, here's a rope. Take it!" Then he threw it and managed to plant it so closely by his friend that he could reach it. With all their strength, the other two unwounded men pulled, while Danny and the Seargant with the arm injury tried to hold on as the next wave hit the boat and sent Rafe, who was closest to the edge overboard as well. He was lucky that he had held on to the rope because this way the others managed to first pull him back on board and then Red and the person, he had rescued. Unbeleivingly they stared at their fearless leader -Col. Doolittle being dragged out by Red. For a moment he lay still. Helpless, like a wet bag with water running from every inch of his body. Then both of the men started caughing and spitting water but were thankful to be back aboard.  
When Doolittle had enough air to breath properly, he turned his head to look into his rescuers face-amazed by who it had been:" Thank you!" Red nodded.  
Suddenly a distinct sound grew louder than the sounds of the storm. It was the humming of an airplane.  
Of course, all of them immediately knew what it was.Their first thought was rescue but immediately they realised it could also mean the exact opposite. They held their breath until the plane shot over them. Within a second they knew that it was one of theirs. Eagerly radio messages were sent, until the longed for reply came:" Copy that, we can see you. We'll come back and get you. Over!"  
Despite the waves still shaking their boat, the releif was so great that all of the men sank to the bottom of it and sighed.  
Rafe remarked:" Great, now that I'm soaked to my underwear!"  
The only thing Danny could do was grin about his friend's sense of humor. 


	3. Better safe or sorry

Better safe or sorry?  
  
Soon they were aboard the huge US Navy aircraft carrier. Shaking from cold they waited to be provided with clean and dry uniforms.  
They all sat wrapped in blankets incredibly releived for finally being on friendly ground. Their thoughts circled around what had just happened to them. They had barely escaped being shot or captured by their worst enemy. One only could fear what they would have done to them.  
Had their mission made sense at all? Or was it just a drop on a hot stone? Had they risked everything for nothing? Or were they heroes now?  
Under the extreme experiences of the last few days, one of the soldiers quietly started sobbing. His mate petted him on the back without a word.  
And they others also weren't sure what to think now.   
Col. Dootlittle straightened up and used the opportunity to have talk to his men:  
"Can I have your attention for a minute?"  
When he was sure that all eyes were fixed on him, he said in a very distinctive tone:"  
I wanted to thank you. You have served your country and you did it well." he paused trying to find the right words: "To be honest with you. I wasn't sure whether we would ever return. We had a rescue plan in store but it wasn't sure whether it would work out. You knew what you're in for and you still went for it. I'm proud of you all. You've earned my respect and I'll do my best to get you all what you deserve."  
The pilots couldn't help but smile. Doolittle's words did their job. He could see how their eyes started sparkling and they suddenly felt the way they were supposed to feel. Happy, proud and releived.  
At that moment they were interrrupted by a few paramedics rushing in:" We've been informed that some of your men were wounded, Col.." Doolittle was a bit upset about this great moment being interupted but, of course, he wanted their best. So he motioned for Danny and the other seargant, who's name was Steve, by the way.  
Danny breathed a sigh of relief because the shipride hadn't done much for his recovery-on the contrary. He was feeling worse by the minute, his chest aching and strange shivers of heat and cold shaking him. He was picked up, put on a strecher and brought away together with Steve. One of the parmedics quickly said:"We'll see to the rest of you later!" Then they dashed of. Rafe wanted to jump up and follow Danny but beside the fact that his own kneews were still incredibly shaky from exhaustion and seasickness, the Col. held him back. Rafe looked blankly at him. Then he nodded in agreement.  
It only took a minute and they were given new clothes, which helped them to warm up.  
While the Col. went to talk to the commanding officer about what was going to happen to his unit now, Rafe sat on the floor of the ship and waited.   
After a little while a paramedic returned and gathered the men, who had only small injuries including Rafe and escorted them towards the ship's medical facility, which turned out to be only two small cabins from what Rafe could see. Good enough to clean their cuts and grazes and patch them up.  
Rafe tried to get a glimpse of where Danny was because he was getting quite uneasy about not knowing what was going on. He couldn't find his friend before a paramedic found him to see to a gash on Rafe's head, which he hadn't even cared about. With a few stiches it was taken care off and covered with a white patch. Rafe shot a quick look in the mirror:"Oh great!" he mumbled. But he wasn't overly concered about it or about anybody else but his best friend.  
Danny was his one and only long time friend and no matter what had happend between them, they had always worked it out and maintained their friendship. Rafe was getting more nervous by the minute not knowing what was happening.  
Because nobody would tell him anything, he found himself a quiet spot.  
The bright light the doctor was shining into Dannys eyes, blinded him. He was laying on a cold steel table, still wearing his wet dirty pants, while somebody stuck a needle into his arm. The pain from it was nothing compared to the hot burning pain in his side and shoulder, which the doctor was just examining.  
Dannys thoughts were clouded. He felt so bad that he only hoped he would get through it ok. He wasn't sure how much longer he was able to put up with it. Then his thoughts wandered to Evelyn. How he longed to see her, he simply had to see her again. He wish she knew hoe much he missed her. In fact he feared that he never should have left for this mission but he had been so blind. Although it was clear as daylight that the mission was highly dangerous, he had never expected to end up with two bulletts in his chest. He draw a painful breath, which he had been holding, which brought him back to the reality and ,with it, the pain.   
Danny thought it would get better but in fact it didn't.   
Suddenly drousiness made his eyelids heavy and he could barely keep his eyes open. A wabbly, strange stream made his suffering fade until it became bearble. He heard bits and pieces of a conversation which didn't make any sense to him, so he decided to close his eyes.  
The minutes passed by very slowly. It hadn't escaped his attention that the doctors words must mean that he wasn't well at all.   
Rafe was truly upset. Nervously he tapped his foot and chewed his lip. The waiting was driving him crazy. So he finally stood outside on the ship and watched the rough waves. For this ship the ocean didn't even seem dangerous -unlike the small boat they had been in. His gaze wandered over the clouded night sky and to...her. What might she do now? Did she know they had crashed, did she know they had survived? What would happen now with the three..four of them? If Danny hadn't survived, Rafe could be with her and become a father. When he realised what he'd just been thinking, he immediately regretted it and mentally slapped himself, telling himself never to allow thoughts like that again. Danny-he should have a look for him, his best friend was wounded. How could he let a girl get in between both of them in a situation like this?  
Finishing these kind of thoughts, he quickly walked back towards the quarters where the others were.  
Col. Doolittle just came back and loudly announced:" Get up quickly. We're flying out immediately. They are putting a plane together for us and fly us out to get Seargant Walker and Seargant McKinney to a hospital ASAP."  
First Rafe got quite excited about getting home soon but then he realised that Danny had to be in a very bad state. He practically jumped at the Col. asking athousand questions:" Where is Danny, how is he? Why are we flying right now? Where are we going, can I see him?"  
"Slow down. I think you should stay together we the others!"  
Rafe looked him square in the eye searching for clues.  
Then he simply shook his head and pushed past his superior:"I want to be with him!"  
"McCawley!" The older man shouted annoyedly.  
But Rafe was gone. It didn't take him long to find the rather small aircraft, which was supposed to take them on. He saw a few men fuelling up the plane and preparing it for the start. Some of the interior had been taken out to make it a bit lighter. It reminded him of what they had to do just before they had left for Japan. It probably was the only way to enable it to take off.  
Rafe looked around for Danny and spotted some paramedics and the rest of his unit approaching from the other side of the runway. It was dark but the ship was partly lit.  
He could see the men carrying Danny.  
Finally they made it to the plane and carefully carried him inside.The other men helped Seargant McKinney in and then jumped in themselves. Danny's eyes were closed. Rafe crawled in next to paramedic accompanying the flight and holding an infusin bag reading antibiotics.When the doors were thrown shut, the engines howled and the plane rolled onto the bumpy end of the runway.  
A minute later they were in the air.  
Strangely enough Rafe didn't feel the slightest fear of flying nor did the others despite the crash. Rafe would never fear flying.  
He shot a look at Danny's face, which was barely visible in the darkness. Most of it was hidden in shadows just like his own. Only his nose and mouth was lit by a tiny bit of moonlight slowly braking through the clouds. Was Evelyn really in love with him? Or did she still have the old feelings for Rafe? Was she just staying with Danny because of their child? It didn't matter-not now. Right now it only mattered that they got him home safely. And after all what mattered more was their friendship-or wasn't it?   
He suddenly felt extremely helpless. There was nothing he could do for his friend. He could just sit and watch.   
Carfully he reached under the scratchy blanket for Danny's hand and held it. There it was again-their bond. The bond of friendship.  
  
(If you want more, you will have to read AND review-please-some goodies for the author. It's very appreciated!) 


	4. They are coming

Goodness, gracious! So many reviews at once. Thanks heaps. I appreciate the advice, too! Cheers to Atomic, Pearl Harbour, Sunshine,Alex, SuziWan,XoXLiLaNgElXoX (is that short for something;-9),Iamawriter and Vesta.  
By the way sunshine: I'm a late watcher as well-saw it about a month ago because I refused to watch such a commercial movie when it came out-I just watched the interviews and thought Ben Affleck's comments about Matt Damon were hilarious, who was supposed to play Danny originally. I'm sure he would have been good but I'm glad Josh Hartnett got the part because he brings an unusual character with a great presence and different looks to the screen. I just recently found the tape in local library and really like it-the story's so poetic in a way and the crew has done a fabulous job on sets, lighting and camera -(can you tell my background?) -have reextended for uhm 5 times or so!  
So because you've been such nice reviewers, here's the next part right away.  
  
  
They are coming  
  
It was an early morning with the first beams of light coming in through the half drawn curtains of the hospital at Pearl Harbour.  
The night shift was ready to go home and the day shift was just taking over.  
  
Evelyn sat down at a desk and looked over the files of patients, Nina had left her. Most of them were still there recovering from the attacks.   
She picked up a file with a name written on it:'Private James Watson'. She smiled slightly at his name, then quickly flicked through the pages and found the latest entry. So she got up, made her way down the hallway, got an infusion bag from the storage room and went to the man's bed. He was asleep like most of the other patients, who could sleep. Here and there Evelyn heard somebody talk or moan, be it from pain or bad dreams, and one of her fellow nurses would come and comfort them.  
Evelyn swallowed and then exchanged the bags.   
  
Back at the desk, she opened a large drawer labeled T-Z and slipped the file back into it`s place in the alphabet. While she ran through various names, her finger brushed a familiar name:'Capt. Daniel Walker.' It still said Captain. For a second Evelyn paused wondering whether she should correct it. But the feeling of reading his name and the knowledge of probably never seeing him again because they had crashed, made her heart ache.   
  
She quickly shut the drawer and walked away, trying to hide her feelings to Sandra, who had come her way to give her another file:"Ev, could you maybe...?" When she saw the expression on Evelyn's fragile face, she asked:"Hon, are you alright?" Evelyn quickly nodded as her throat tightened. Doubtfully Sandra searched her face, but decided not to dig deaper:"Could you maybe take this one? He's always so...strange to me, you know."  
Her friend nodded:"Of course." she took the file and went off to gathered a new bandage and medication, when one of the doctors on duty walked by and said: "Good morning."  
  
Evelyn soon approached the man's bed, who woke up, when she unwrapped the old bandage on his leg. He drousily rubbed his eyes and looked at her. Then a huge smile appeared on his face:" Good morning. Who do we have here?"   
Evelyn tried to ignore his corny remarks and put some cream on his leg, then she rewrapped it.  
"C'mon, don't go away so quickly, don't you want to stay and have a chat with me, please?"   
While Evelyn was trying to think of an answer, she heard nurses run by behind her and loud talk, which was unusual for these early hours. She quickly finished the bandage and stood up turning away without saying anything. Then she followed the others to the emergency entrance, where she saw a couple of nurses jump into the ambulance.   
Breathless from running Nina called:"C'mon Ev., we have an emergency call."   
While Evelyn rolled her eyes completely sick of emergencies, Sandra brushed past her and yelled:" Get in, it's the guys from the Doolittle raid!"   
  
Evelyn's jaw dropped and her heart seemed to stand still for a second. She had heard their desperate screams when they had crashed and that Rafe had called out that they were surrounded by Japs. She hadn't expected anybody to come back from this mission although, deep in her heart, she had hoped that they would. Would Danny or Rafe be among them? She started to move towards the ambulance with shaky legs and climbed in.  
  
On their way, Sandra reached for her cold,sweaty hand. Evelyn appreciated the support as she stared out the back window.  
Then the ambulance came to a halt on the air field among a few planes.  
When they all got out Evelyn tried hard not to show her mixture of fear and excitement. She looked around to see whether the plane had already landed and the world around her seemed to spin. She just couldn't see which one it possibly could be.   
The other girls felt the same way but they realised that it hadn't touched down yet. So they held on to each others arms and waited for what seemed forever until a call on the radio announced half an hour later that the plane was just about to come in.  
  
On the horizon the girls spotted a small dot quickly becoming larger.  
It seemed like an eternity until it finally touched down, rolled off the runway and the exit was opened.  
Evelyn held her breath, her eyes wide.   
One by one the men came out. They looked terribly exhausted, with dark circles under their eyes and no joy upon their faces. Only a few smiled in acknowledgement of the military personell greating them.  
A young man with his arm in a sling was supported by Red and another soldier and brought to the ambulance.  
Evelyn couldn't take her eyes of the exit, she just shot a very short glance at the three of them wondering whether he was the reason they had been called for.   
Red gave her a weak smile when he passed her by. He didn't know what to say.  
  
Evelyn's gaze wandered back towards the plane, when she finally spotted Rafe, who was looking in her direction. For a second Evelyn's heart was incredibly releived to see Rafe. He was there, he was well. But then a shock went through her body. Why wasn't Danny just next to him? She couldn't stand still any longer. Stumbling she headed towards the plane. When she came closer, she saw Rafe and a paramedic carry a stretcher out of the plane. A second later she reached it, to see who was on it. Danny!  
Releive, the greatest releive ever. He was alive. But what on earth was wrong with him?   
  
Rafe watched Evelyn grab Danny's hand with tears in her eyes and whisper: "Danny!"   
Hearing her voice, Danny opened his brown eyes drousily.  
She had so longed to look into those eyes again.   
Danny could not beleive what he saw. Evelyn, she was here. He had wished to see her again with all his heart and now she was just here. The greatest joy came over him and he couldn't help a huge smile spreading on his face:"Evelyn!"   
She smiled back at him overwhelmed by feelings, tears of joy falling from her face. She bent down and gave him a soft kiss on the lips:"I missed you so much. I'm so glad you're back!"   
Then she stood up and looked at Rafe, who also smiled at her. She returned it:"Rafe. You're back!"   
For the first time in hours she drew a deep and releived breath before the nurse in her took over:"Let's get him to the ambulance -quick! What's the matter with him?"  
While they hurried over to the ambulance, where the doctor greeted them, the paramedic explained:" He's got two bullet wounds, one's still stuck, which caused an infection."   
"Oh, no." Evelyn whispered to herself while the MD nodded.   
Danny was carried inside the ambulance, the doors slammed shut and it sped of with full blast.  
  
Evelyn observed the doctor checking Danny's pulse, then she gazed up at Rafe, who had been watching her. When their eyes met, he pulled up one corner of his mouth as if to say:'It's gonna be ok.' First Evelyn stared at him doubtfully knowing that it wasn't just gonna be ok- none of it all- then looked back at Danny her eyes's full of concern.  
Danny held on to her hand although he had closed his eyes again.  
An uneasy silence spread in the ambulance and Sandra watched them from the front. 


	5. At the hospital

Hello again, I obviously can't keep my fingers still fot too long. Thanks for all your reviews. Sunshine, I`m flattered!  
  
At the hospital  
  
At the hospital everything happened very quickly. Evelyn could only ran after the men, who rushed Danny to an operation theater. In front of her two nurses blocked Rafe's way:"Sorry, sir. You have to wait here. You can't go inside!"  
Evelyn pushed her way past them telling Rafe that she would take care of Danny from there.   
Rafe stood there looking blankly at the doors closing in front of him. That was it. It was out of his hands. He simply had to wait and see, which turned out to be the most difficult of all tasks. With a sudden feeling of helplessness, he walked backwards, away from the door, still staring at it. Then he turned on his heel and ran out of the hospital.  
  
Her hands were shaking when she held them under the cold water to clean them.She wasn't fully aware what was going on. She hadn't expected them to come back just out of the blue. In fact, she hadn't expected them back at all. And what she least expected was to find Danny with his life at stake in front of her.   
Behind Evelyn Sandra came up to wash her hands as well. She looked at Evelyn's shaking fingers and then at her pale face:"Are you sure you're up to this?"  
Evelyn played it cool:" I've seen worse!"  
Sandra sighed:"I know, Ev. We all have but, you know, it's Danny." She simply looked into her red rimmed eyes.  
Her friend tried to hold the gaze but had to look away:"Yes."  
From within the operating theater the doctor called:" We're ready here. Hurry up. We need you in here, now!"  
Sandra and Evelyn exchanged one more glance, a hug and then went in.  
  
Although Evelyn couldn't even see his face, she didn't forget for one second, who was in front of her. She knew every spot on his body so well that she simply couldn't until the point came when it got too much and she suddenly dashed out, ran out of the room, down the hallway, out the back door and broke down in front of the hospital.   
Sickness and fear became so huge that the only thing she could do was fall onto her knees and hands, shake and cry.  
Like a lost child she sat on the ground next to the trash cans behind the hospital and cried out loudly.   
  
Slowly her cries changed into sobs.   
  
In the distance somebody was watching her.   
  
Evelyn sobbed until she calmed down slightly and was able to wipe her tears away. She sat up slightly and leaned her back against the wall. Why on earth had this suddenly gotten so intense when she had seen so many injured soldiers before? Of course, she knew.   
When she opened her eyes, she saw somebody standing in a distance. With the back of her hand she wiped her tears away to see who was watching her. She felt embarrassed. But only until she saw who it was. Rafe. Evelyn looked at him for half a minute until he made his way over to her. She invited him to sit down next to him.   
Rafe's look was stern almost blank. All he had seen was a terribly crying Evelyn running out of the hospital. What had gone wrong? What had happened? Had he hoped in vain?  
Evelyn didn't dare to look him in the face because she was so embarrassed about her lack of control:"I´m sorry."  
Rafe's heart droped. After a pause of shock he moved away from her and exclaimed:"No!"  
Evelyn looked at him irritatedly:"What?" She saw the pain in his eyes and the disbeleiving stare. Suddenly she realised what he thought and quickly shook her head:"No, no. It's not what you think!" Despite the terrible situation she had to laugh slightly and said more softly:"No, Rafe, it's not what you think."  
Questioningly he looked at her:"But you...ran out like..."  
She still shook her head, strands of her long dark hair dangling from under her white cap:" I just couldn't take the sight anymore. I just couldn't put up with it all." She looked around helplessly. She wanted to help Danny but she just couldn't.   
Just then Rafe realised how hard it had to be for her. Not only did she always handle seeing and helping in all the pain and terrible injustice but now she had to put up with seeing what the Japanese had done to the man, she was in love with.  
Rafe carefully opened his arms and pulled her close:"I`m so sorry, Evelyn.I'm sorry you have to go through this. I know how you feel."   
Evelyn welcomed his shoulder and let her head sink against it:"You've brought him back and I can't even stand the sight."  
Rafe carefully stroke her back to calm her shaking:"No, it's alright. It's perfectly alright."  
He gently rocked her in his arms.   
Evelyn let another tear slip down and closed her eyes while pressing her cheek onto the fabric of her friend's uniform.  
It felt so good, so calming, as if nothing could ever happen to them again. It was like she was safe in his arms.  
  
The minutes passed as they sat like this outside in the beautiful warm sun of Pearl, which disguised what had happened not too long ago and was still casting it`s shadows. A few birds searched for bread crumbs near the trash cans and a soft breeze made the palm trees sway above them.   
Evelyn eventually calmed down and Rafe also felt slightly better in her arms. For that moment it was just the two of them.  
It was also then when suddenly a strange feeling came over them. They had been comforting each other-innocently- but now the memories of what had been between them came back. They slightly pulled away and looked into each others eyes knowing exactly what the other one was thinking.  
  
(Oh, don't you just love cliffhangers? I'm rather undecided how this should go on. Bear with me a s I'm making my decision.)  
Do my a favour, you people who read this, write a story as well, so I get to read other people's ideas and have fun! 


	6. Reunited

You really want Danny to be happy?! Maybe, maybe not;-)   
Thanks for all the reviews-you`re awesome.   
But you know what: I need something new to read as well, so whoever reads this, please post a new chapter or story as well;-)  
  
Reunited  
  
The sun was slowly setting leaving only a small beam of orange light coming in through the half drawn curtains.  
From a distance the shape of a man sleeping in the late afternoon sun seemed almost peaceful.   
At a closer look, however, one could see that the reality was different. The van whirling above his head could only half cool the sweat, which had spread all over his body and made his hair stick to his forehead and soaked the bandages on his shoulder, neck and side.  
He was asleep but it wasn't a calm and deep sleep but one shaken by memories and pain.  
  
His best friend sat outside, looking across the wide green lawn towards the ocean but not seeing it. His thoughts jumped between the worries about his injured friend and the grief over his lost love. He could not allow himself to fall back in love with Evelyn. Or hadn't he ever been out of love with her? Not really. He just had told himself that Evelyn and Danny were together now. On one hand he felt a terrible injustice in this fact but on the other hand he also understood why they had gotten together. After all she was pregnant now. There was nothing to question anymore. Rafe just had to give up on her. And on top of this Danny was his best friend, he had safed Rafe and that he'd been shot was more or less Rafe's fault. Who knows what would have happened if Rafe hadn't grabbed the gun?  
  
In the meantime, Danny woke up. Before he even opened his eyes, through all his drousiness he could feel what had happened to him. When would this pain ever subside? When his thoughts cleared up a bit, he remembered that he was at the hospital now and then he remembered her. Evelyn. She had to be here, too. Slowly he opened his eyes, which didn't focus too well. The pain in his side was just too much. He couldn't see Evelyn-only an tiny empty room formed by curtains on three sides and a window on the other. She wasn't there, so all he wanted to do was go back to sleep to outsleep the tortures.  
  
Evelyn had forced herself not to check on Danny every 5 minutes to see how he was holding up. She knew that she would be sent home if she did because her superiors didn't have any sympathy for such unprofessional behaviour.   
So she only checked in every 20 minutes but he was asleep.  
  
She found Rafe sitting in the corner on a chair he had turned around and slumped down on leaning his chin onto the back of it. He was looking at his friend lost in thoughts.   
When Evelyn saw him, she said: "Rafe."  
His eyes met hers and he raised his eyebrows, then he said: "Nothing. He's not woken up yet. Do you think he's ok?"   
Danny had thrown the sheet off while tossing and turning in his uneasy sleep.  
Evelyn didn't want to answer Rafe's question and she really couldn't. They'd just have to wait and see.  
Evelyn professionally checked the infusion, then his pulse. While she pressed her finger to his neck, her gaze fell upon his face.  
It was hot, red and wore a grim expression.   
Evelyn found herself staring at him. How could she possibly ever hurt him? Her feelings towards him were gentle and honest. She carefully stroke his cheek, but Rafe's presence made her feel uneasy about this, so she got up and turned to go:"I'll come back later."  
  
When she checked on a few of the other patients, Sandra came up behind her:" Evelyn?"  
Evelyn didn't turn to see who it was. She knew:"Yeah?"  
"Ev., you know you can go home, if you want to. I can finish up here." She added more quietly:"Or you can go and stay with Danny."   
Her friend smiled slightly:"No, thanks. There's no use in sitting in there all the time. It's not gonna change anything."  
At that moment her gaze fell out through the window and she realised Rafe, who had left the hospital, sitting in the distance. She wondered what he was thinking about out there and how he was holding up. She didn't want to think about her own feelings. It was easier to think about somebody elses.  
  
She finished her round and then snuk back in to Danny.   
Quietly she sat down on the side of his bed and took his hand, which she gently rubbed while she looked out into the sunset.  
She almost couldn't beleive it, he was here again. She could actually feel the warmth of his hand on her skin.  
Slowly the sun approached the horizon.   
"Is it as pretty as always?" a hoarse, weak voice asked.   
Evelyn spun around to see Danny smiling slightly at her. Her face became one big smile. Slowly she nodded and mumbled:"Yes. Now it is."  
She felt him rubb her hand back. At this moment she felt releive and joy gently spreading. She took it in completely.  
After a few seconds, she asked:"How are you?"  
"Em, bad question, next one."  
Evelyn smiled at him:"At least you haven't lost your sense of humor."  
They looked at each other for an intense moment with hands connected. Both cherished the others company incredibly releived to be together again.  
Evelyn felt her eyes fill up with tears. She swallowed:"Danny."  
He simply looked her in the eye wondering what she was going to say.  
"I love you." She paused:" I thought I might never see you again, that I'd lost you." A tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek.  
Danny's throat suddenly got choked up as well. With all the battle and fighting he had had to be tough-just like all the other guys. They had burried their feelings deep down inside and tried not to think about them but do their job. Danny had thought about Evelyn but it was only now that he realised how much he had missed her.  
He nodded:"I love you,too, Evelyn."  
A smile spread across her mouth when she leaned forward careful not to hurt him. Danny closed his eyes and their lips met slowly. It almost felt as if they'd kiss for the first time-excited like teenagers but with love in their hearts, at first softly carrassing each others lips but soon the kiss got more passionate until Danny ran out of breath and gasped.  
Evelyn's eyes widened:"Sorry, I didn't mean to...."  
He took a deep breath and just smiled an unusually big smile.  
Evelyn watched him close his eyes again and said:"Rafe is just outside, I think I'll go and get him for you."   
Danny had a hard time to keep his eyes open. Whatever they had given him was doing it's duty, so he simply mumbled:"Hm."  
Evelyn watched him dose off again with a mixture of happiness and slight worry.  
She gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead:" I love you."  
Another: "Hm." was the answer. He had obviously heard it.  
  
What's a story without a bit of schmalz? Love your reviews-so keep on doing them, c'mon, you know, just punch those keys and drop me a line-thanks! 


	7. Tell him

Tell him  
  
The next morning Evelyn was early for work.   
  
Of course, she had barely slept the night before but she knew that she couldn't have stayed at the hospital without getting into trouble. She had quickly drunk a cup of coffee and chewed on a breadroll with honey before she had walked to the hospital.   
  
In the early morning the coolness of the night was keeping the temperatures down to a bearable degree.  
  
When she entered the hospital her shoes were slightly wet from the lawn she crossed.  
Quickly she made her way to Danny and found him awake.   
When he saw her his expression changed to a friendly almost smile.  
She approached him quickly and kissed him:"Hi, I came here as early as I could."  
Danny nodded:"It's good to see you." He faked another small smile but it was obvious that he wasn't well.  
Her expression changed to insecurity:"What's wrong? Are you ok?"  
A quick nodd was all the reply she got.   
For a few seconds she looked at him still insecure what was wrong. Was it his medical condition that was bothering him or was it something else like maybe doubts about their relationship and Rafe. She had to bring the topic up if the guys didn't but she felt right now wasn't the right moment. She searched his face for clues but didn't get any because he had closed his eyes.  
Evelyn decided to change the topic:"You must be really hungry by now, I'll go and get you something."  
She stood up and walked outside the curtain, where she paused for a moment to think.  
  
On the other side of the room, which was filled with beds, which were mostly occupied, she saw Sandra, who was changing an infusion.  
She wanted to go back in to Danny and find out what was wrong but for some reason decided to let it go for now.  
  
So she made her way to the hospital kitchen where she found Rosie, a woman of about 55 years, who obviously not only liked to cook but also to eat.   
When she saw Evelyn in the doorframe, she winked at her:"Darling, come here. I've got something for ya! Rosie has made something good this morning. Try, try!" She handed Evelyn a plate with freshly baked muffins, which were still hot, and jam.  
Evelyn took the plate and asked:" Could I maybe get two more for a friend?"  
"Sure love! Who's that mysterious friend?" She chuckled at her own little joke:"Girl or BOY?" She almost shook from laughing.  
The young nurse had to laugh as well seeing the cook:" Oh, Rosie, that's my secret, you know!"  
Rosie pointed towards the back entrance where the garbage cans were:"It's not the fellow out the back is it? Cause he's already had his share."  
Puzzled Evelyn walked to the door and looked at an old Hawaiian fisherman with old, ragged clothes and a stray hat, sitting on a small wooden crate.   
She turned back to Rosie and smirked:"No, Rosie, I'm afraid it's not him. This fellow out there is much to handsome!"   
Then she took the plate, thanked the cook and made her way down the hallway, where she was spotted by Sandra:  
"Ev, good morning!"  
"Morning, Sandra. You're shifts over. You can go home and get some sleep."  
Sandra sighed:"Yes, I can use a bit of sleep. But can I talk to you first?"  
"Yes, what is it?"  
The curly headed nurse looked at her in a concerned way:" I just wanted to let you know that ...that Danny isn't well."   
Evelyn's heart dropped.  
"We had to get one of the doctors in tonight because he was in so much pain and the fever's rising again. It's all on his chart. I just wanted to let you know."  
Evelyn's expression was stern when she nodded.   
Sandra bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. Carefully she touched the other girls arm:"I`m sure he's gonna be fine soon."  
"Thanks." With that Evelyn walked away to see Danny.  
  
A few meters away she heard him moan and started running. She found the doctor behind the curtain who was checking his condition.   
He had taken off the bandages and Evelyn gasped at what she saw. Then she realised that Danny was looking at her and tried to look as normal as possible.   
When the doctor touched the stiched up operation wound on Danny's side, he couldn't help but wince poorly.   
Silently she cut a few strips of bandage and handed them over to the doctor before she realised Rafe was looking through the gap in the curtain with big eyes. Quickly Evelyn stepped in front of him and gently pushed him away following him outside:"Rafe, you can't be here, right now."  
"Why not?" he damanded to know.  
"It's not time to visit yet and besides he just can't have any visitors! Go away, please."  
Rafe's expression reveiled that he was truly concerned:"Why not, what's wrong?"  
"Please, Rafe, just leave." Evelyn pleaded.  
"No." Rafe stubbornly responded:"I want to know what is going on in there. He's my friend. Tell me!"  
Evelyn shook her head pleadingly while the doctors voice ordered harshly:  
"Send him away and get back in here, I need you."   
Danny's choked up "Gosh, stop!" put a stress to the doctor's words.  
Rafe's face showed shock.   
When Evelyn turned to go, he held her back:"Will he be ok? Evelyn!?" his voice grew louder:"Ev, you need to tell him!"  
Evelyn knitted her brows, while Rafe contiued in almost a whisper:"He needs to know you're pregnant."  
Hurrying back inside, Evelyn just shook her head and left Rafe standing there. 


	8. Nightly encounters

Nightly encounters  
  
It was late at night when Danny woke up. Outside the window the stars lit the cloudless sky.   
It had taken the whole past five days for him to get over the worst pain and fever with the help of tablets and infusions, which had completely clouded his mind. Now he felt wide awake staring out the window. He looked at the stars above remembering the night on the boat before the storm had started. He wondered where Rafe was and whether he'd be flying a lot-without Danny or maybe go on another mission-without Danny as well. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind: would he ever be able to fly a fighter again?   
This thought almost made him jump in bed and raised his heart rate to 150.   
Upset he ran his hand through his uncombed hair.  
He told himself to calm down.  
He needed to get out, this endless laying in bed drove him crazy. He just wanted to get up, walk out and fly again.  
What kind of looser was he to give up the fight as soon as he found a safe haven. He really had been lazy just laying in bed all the time and now he started feeling sorry for himself. That had to change -right now.  
"Allright" he whispered ,while he slowly sat up, which was enough to make his vision go black.  
He waited for a few moments until he saw the dimly lit room again. Then he carefully placed his bare feet onto the cold floor. Waiting another second, he finally attempted to stand up pressing his right hand to the wound in his side and he succeeded but had to hold on to a side board.   
He was in incredibly bad shape for his taste because he had lost a few pounds and was now real skinny and weak.  
Despite the pain in his shoulder and side, he decided to draw back the curtain and walk down the hallway.  
When he finally reached the back entrance, he stepped outside in the soft night breeze, which send a few shivers down his bare back. He carefully sat down on the crate and took a deep breath of the salty breeze.  
The sounds of the waves rolling onto the sand could be heard in the distance. The wind made the palm trees sway and ruffled his hair. He leaned his head back and enjoyed the night, which was so nice and peaceful.  
This was good. It made him feel comfortable-almost like home.  
He sat in the cool breeze listening to the sounds of the night for at least half an hour. He had slept so much in the last few days that he just couldn't sleep anymore.  
  
A sound made him turn his head towards the exit where a the shape of a nurse appeared.   
Although Danny squinted he couldn't make out who it was in the dim light. He only knew that he'd be in trouble.He thought that he could almost feel her frown.  
The woman stood there for a second and then got a cigarette from her pocket and lit it. It glowed in the dark when she enhaled the smoke. Then she slowly walked over to Danny and sat down on a crate next to him.   
Now Danny could see her face.   
Sandra looked at Danny, then up at the stars and said in one breath: "How beautiful. You know you're not supposed to be out here, don't you?"  
Danny swallowed not knowing what to respond.He was insecure whether Sandra actually liked him and let him get away with it or not.   
She always seemed a bit reserved when they met and seeing her in her underwear with rolled up hair hasn't helped either.  
He gave her a shy look:" Sorry."  
A slight smile showed on her lips:"It's just me. I won't tell anyone-just don't pass out out here, ok?" She was amused by his shyness:"Smoke? No you don't, do you?"  
Danny shook his head, which caused the healing cut on his neck to hurt and he made a face.  
Sandra shrugged and said casually:"See, told you! "  
Then she shoved the pack of cigarettes back in her pocket:"It's not good for you anyway, so better don't start."  
A minute passed between them and they looked up at the stars again, while she blew out little clouds of smoke.  
Danny smirked as they were lifted up in the air:"You`re creating new stars."  
She wondered what that was supposed to mean and looked at him. Then she simply said what she thought:"Strange, hey?"  
Danny looked at her:"Sorry?"  
"It's strange! You know, how long have we known each other?"  
Wondering what she was driving at, he slightly shook his head as if to say-I have no idea.  
"Quite some time." she whispered."And in all this time we've never really talked. That's strange, don't you think?"  
The young pilot had to agree:"Yes, you're right. That is strange. We always only chatted when we were a whole group. How come?"  
The corners of her mouth went up but she didn't answer.   
So Danny shrugged:" I don't know." The shrugging, however, turned out to be quite painful and he drew in some air:"Ouch!"  
Alarmed Sandra touched his arm and asked:"You ok, Walker?"  
She gave him such a concerned look through her glasses that he had to laugh:"Yeah, yeah, fine. Just don't look at me that way!"   
Irritated she let go of his arm and asked:"What way?"  
Now he really had to laugh and pointed at her:"Exactly that way!"  
She shook her head and smiled. Then she added:"Alright, then you just don't move your head, shoulder or anything else and we'll be fine and I don't have to put that look on !"  
Danny raised his eyebrows with an amused look on his face:"Alright!"   
Then he added:"You're funny, you know that?"  
She once again drew on her cigarette before crushing it out and asked with a slightly different worried look:"Not until you told me."  
Then she mentioned:"I have to go back in." wondering why for some reason she wanted to stay out here and not go back in besides the fact that it was boring inside and a stack of paper work was lying on the desk.  
Danny realised that he had actually enjoyed their little chat and he hadn't thought about Evelyn, Rafe and what they had said the other day. He couldn't get rid of the feeling that there was something they didn't tell him. What was almost worse was that he still was afraid that he might not be able to fly again. After all the demands on the pilot's abilities and health were huge. Unfortunately now all of it was present in his mind again and his eyes darkened.  
Sandra slowly stood up and reached out her hand:"C'mon, I'll help you back in."  
It felt strange to take her hand and have her arm around him supporting him. But it also felt very good not only because he could use some physical support but also more. It seemed to be mental support. While they were making their way down the hallway he wondered why on earth out of all the girls he knew it was her making him feel better now. Until this night he hadn't even taken great notice of her.   
Maybe he was just happy not to be alone-yeah- that had to be it.  
  
(Pearl-I hope you don't mind!) 


	9. When secrets aren't secrets anymore

When secrets aren't secrets anymore  
  
When Danny drousily opened his eyes the next morning, Evelyn was at his side reading the chart entry from the night before.  
He decided not to mention anything to her. After all there was nothing to mention. He was still his own person and allowed to make friends whenever whereever. Still he almost felt bad about not telling her but then he suddenly remembered what Rafe had shouted out that day when Danny wasn't well at all.   
Evelyn gave him a kiss on the cheek and said:"Morning, you slept in today!"  
"Did I?" He asked scratching his head and trying to straighten out his hair.  
A minute later a deep voice asked behind the curtain:"Excuse me, can we come in?"  
"Yes!"  
Col. Doolittle entered through the curtain followed by Seargant McKinney, who had his arm in sling, and Rafe.   
Quickly Danny tried to sit up straight in bed and reply their salute.  
"Easy, Walker. Relax." Col. Doolittle got closer to him and looked at him with his fatherly eyes quickly scanning over him. Danny's bandages were now partly hidden under a wife-beater.  
The Colonell nodded:"You look a bit better. I was in here twice before but once you were asleep and once they said I couldn't see you. Do you feel better now?"  
"Yes, sir."  
Collonel Doolittle smiled at bit at his stiffness. Then he sat down on the side of his bed and thought for a moment about the right words:"We're just here to say hello, Lt. McKinney also wanted to drop in."   
The two young pilots shook hands and exchanged a few words before their superior spoke up:"I wanted to tell you this. I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you." He looked at McKinney and Rafe as well:"All of you, that is. You risked a lot and some of you paid for it." He looked from Danny to McKinney and back at Danny:"But you've served your country well and I'm making sure that you'll get rewarded for what we have achieved. Good job." Then he stood up again and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder:"I hope you'll be back in the air soon, Lt. Walker."  
With these words he had hit Danny's soft spot, who wasn't able to hide his feelings on this subject. It showed in his eyes and his grim expression:"I don't know, sir."  
His superior gave him an irritated look and then looked at Evelyn questioningly, who said:"What do you mean, you don't know?"  
Danny stared at his feet and said through gritted teeth:"Whether I can fly again."  
Suddenly Evely began to understand why he had been in such a bad mood for the past few days and she was just about to ask why he hadn't told her but decided that this was not the time for it.  
Rafe asked himself the same thing. Was his fear justified? That would be devastating. Not only for Danny but also Rafe. They had grown up together, learned how to fly together, sprayed the fields together for years and played chicken, went through pilot training together and fought side by side. He couldn't imagine his best friend without a plane under his butt.  
"Why wouldn't you be able to fly? Who says you can't fly? As far as I know you'll be the old one, when you fully recover. It just takes some time. That's what the doctor said."  
Evelyn explained quickly.  
One litterary could heard a few rocks drop from everybody's heart in the room.  
Danny cried out:"Why haven't you told me?"  
"Why haven't you asked?" she argued.  
For a second they all just stared at each other but the the good news sank in and Doolittle stood up, clapping him on his good shoulder and said:"I'll see you soon!"  
Then he turned and went out the curtain closely followed by McKinney,who winked at Danny and pointed to the roof:"See you up there!"  
  
Rafe stayed and sat down next to his friend: "I couldn't imagine flying without you-so don't even think about it."  
"Allight,ok, you convinced me." And with a bit of envy, he added:"What are you guys doing at the moment?"  
Rafe exchanged a glance with Evelyn, who had also found a seat holding on to the chart:"Flying...I mean we're just training and we're flying and...ah Danny, we're training-seriously, I mean, combat. It's not gonna be long."  
Danny nodded in a serious way:" I wish I could come,too."  
Then his eyes wandered from Evelyn to Rafe and back to Evelyn: "Listen, I have to ask you something."  
Evelyn's and Rafe's hearts tightened and they looked at him with stern faces.   
Rafe tried to put on one of his cockey looks:"Yeah?"  
"I heard you say something the other day."  
"What? I mean what did I say?"  
"Something about Evelyn needing to tell me something." and he looked at her with those intense eyes.  
Evelyn avoided his gaze and tried to get help from Rafe just by looking at him.  
Rafe looked back at her as if to say:So you haven't told him.  
"Yes, I did say that. But it's Evelyn who has to tell you."  
His friend grew more nervous by the second and sat up straighter:"Tell me what? What on earth is going on here?"  
Evelyn stared at the two with a mixture of not understanding and insult in her face:"What are you talking about?"  
Rafe frowned:"Maybe we should take this outside, Evelyn?"  
Danny practically jumped up in his bed:"What?" He stared at Rafe:"Rafe! What's going on here? What are you hiding?You two should be honest to me! I thought you were my friends."  
Evelyn and Rafe exchanged glanzes.   
It was obvious how angry they had made him. His face also reveilled that the fact that his two best friends were hiding something from him hurt him.  
Rafe motioned for Evelyn to tell him:"C'mon Evelyn, tell him!"  
"Tell him what?" Evelyn yelled.  
"Stop playing games!" Danny now joined in.  
"Freaking..."Rafe exclaimed:"She's pregnant, Danny!"  
  
A few seconds of silence passed while Danny tried to understand the news and Evelyn tried to figure out how to react:"Rafe...oh goodness, Rafe..that's not...that was ...shit!" She turned away from her friends, her face red and completely unable to express herself.  
  
Danny shook of his shock and whispered:"You're pregnant?"  
Evelyn raised her eyebrows, her thoughts going a thousand miles a minute not knowing who to talk to first. She turned around with tears in her eyes, shook her head and ran out the room.  
  
Both of her friends called after her but she wouldn't listen.  
  
While Rafe followed her to the curtain, Danny got up as well trembling slighly:"Wait! Tell me!"  
Rafe turned back towards him and gently pushed him back onto the bed:"You stay in your bed."  
Danny was now getting really angry:"You're not telling me what to do! How long have you known?" He wasn't even sure whether it was his baby or whether this was supposed to mean that Rafe and Evelyn had gotten back together while he was in hospital. Why had they kept this from him?   
With a guilty look in his eyes Rafe replied:"A while."   
"Since when!"  
"Before we went away."  
Danny relaxed slightly knowing that Rafe couldn't possibly have been with Evelyn before the Raid.   
Another question popped in his mind:" But why has she told you and not me?"  
Rafe didn't want to answer this question. There was only one answer to it. He was almost sure Evelyn had told him to explain why she wanted to be with Danny not him. But he couldn't possibly tell his friend that. And he also hoped Danny would never figure it out himself.   
But Danny wasn't stupid. With blank expression he mumbled:"I see." and he turned his back towards Rafe closed his eyes as if he could bear the truth more easily like that.   
  
(Jeez, how dramatic and cheesy. But you just sit tight and wait and see.) 


	10. Confrontations can be good or bad

Confrontations can be good or bad  
  
Rafe carefully sat down on the bed.   
The tension in his friend's back mirrored his inner tension.   
Danny didn't know what to think or do. His thoughts were spinning round in circles trying to find another reason why Evelyn might not have told him. He tried to tell himself that Evelyn wanted to be with him not Rafe. Somehow he just didn't believe it.  
With hoarse voice and his back towards his 'friend' he asked: " Are you back together?"  
Rafe blinked. He couldn't believe Danny actually thought so. He shook his head and quickly said: "Are you serious?"  
Through gritted teeth, he replied: "Just answer!"  
"Hell, no! Of course not!" was the offended reply.  
Danny turned his head slightly:" I couldn't even blame you-you know, after what happened."  
Uneasily his friend got up and walked around the bed to face him.   
Danny's eyes avoided to meet his.  
Rafe leaned against the window, looking at him: "Danny, that's the past. Can't you see that she loves you?"  
He was at a complete loss here. He didn't know what to see, do or think anymore. Slowly he sat up again. He didn't want to say 'no'. He didn't want to say anything. He just wanted to get out of this bloody bed and hospital because it felt like the walls were closing in on him.  
So he stood up and slowly walked towards the curtain.  
Rafe followed him: "Danny, don't be stupid! Stay here. I swear nothing has happened and I don't know why she told me and not you, maybe she didn't want to put any pressure on you before the raid or..., uh, I don't know. Stay her, c'mon!"  
While he left, he answered: "Give it up. I just need to get out of here for a while- I have to get some space!"  
Rafe watched his friend go down the hallway. Louder he added: "Can I come?"  
He really wanted to help, they had always tried to see each other through and now shouldn't be any different.  
"No!"  
Rafe nodded although nobody could see him. He understood his friend, so he decided to go and find Evelyn, which made him leave towards the big lawn in front of the hospital.   
There was a bench under a big old palm tree she liked to sit at.  
  
On his way out the back door, Danny noticed Sandra, who was just coming out of the supplies room. She gave him a friendly nod, when she noticed his grim expression and although he tried to get past her asap, she knew something was wrong.  
"Hey, how are you?"  
"Fine." He lied. "just need some air."  
"There's a window right next to your bed." She joked trying to cheer him up.  
"I gotta go."   
Sandra suddenly blocked his way:" I don't think so! You're not released yet!"  
Danny swallowed and looked to the ground. Then he looked up at her with pleading eyes: "Please, Sandra. I just need some space."  
She searched his face for clues, then asked:"Do you wanna talk about it?"  
"No."   
She nodded: "Fine. But at least tell me where you're going so I can come and look for you if you're not back in a hour."  
"Er...the beach, I think, thanks Sandra."  
"You owe me, pal!". Then she stepped out of his way and gave him a friendly pet on the back:" Take care."  
Danny was already back in his thoughts and slowly making his way out and down the road, which lead to a secluded part of the beach.  
  
It was very exhausting and took him an awfully long time to get there but he finally arrived and sat down in the sand. In a distance he could see a couple jogging along the shore on the white sand. His mind was still going a hundred miles an hour. He thought maybe it would just be easier to bail out and let Evelyn and Rafe be together again. At least he could avoid his bad conscience this way. But how could he possibly do so. He was in love with her.  
Watching the waves slowly calmed his mind, which was in such great uproar. Finally all the emotions of the fight and his 'affair' with Ev before that had broken down on him. The waves, steadily rolling in and the sound of the surf did his best to calm him but wasn't completely successful. He was so exhausted, physically and mentally. He actually just wanted to sit there for a long, long time.  
  
That was when a familiar voice interrupted the flow of his thoughts. A whisper above the waves said:" Danny."  
He knew that voice all too well. The source of his troubles and at the same time of his greatest pleasures.  
He didn't turn around.  
Evelyn didn't dare to touch him: "May I sit down."  
What a question. He turned and looked up at her. Her eyes were red but she had put on a brave face. So he nodded.  
Evelyn sat down next to him with their shoulders touching.   
She wasn't sure how to start. For a while she looked out onto the ocean watching the waves.  
Then she carefully placed her hand on his: "I'm sorry."  
He continued to stare at the ocean.  
"I'm sorry I haven't told you first and then again, I'm not."  
Danny furrowed his brow:"Huh?"  
"Because it isn't true." She paused." Before you left, I was sick for a few days, I was throwing up and then I didn't get me period. So I thought I was pregnant."  
The young man now watched her talk. He saw how hard this was for her.  
"I told Rafe, so he could tell you, in case something happened."  
She paused again for no apparent reason before she continued:" You were gone for 5 days, when I got my period but there was no way of letting Rafe know that it was false alarm and I had only had the flu or something. And even if there had been, how had I explained this urgent message? So I thought Rafe would forget about it and when you come back, he'd see that it was false alarm. Rafe, obviously, wasn't able to see it."  
This was a lot of cake to swallow for Danny. So he simply nodded, trying to let the news sink in.  
Eagerly Evelyn waited for him to say something but he just didn't.  
So she just sat next to him , when she felt him squeeze her hand.  
"So, you're not pregnant?"  
"No."  
"And you're not with Rafe?"  
"No! What makes you think that?"  
"I don't know." Now he looked her in the eye: "Maybe because you told him and not me."  
Evelyn nodded:"You're right about that. Please try to understand me. I thought Rafe was dead. And then we got together and believe me, I didn't want that to happen but you just had this effect on me. And please don't think you were just a substitute. You are a completely different person and I was in love with you no matter what had happened before."  
Danny's heart sank when he noticed the ' I was in love...". The young woman continued: "When suddenly Rafe came back, I just didn't know anything anymore. I didn't understand a thing or who I love or what."  
It was hard for him to keep listening to her.  
"Then the japs came and you two got your orders to leave. I knew I had to make a decision, so I decided for you and it was easier not to hurt Rafe by telling him about the baby."  
Danny swallowed hard: "Would have stayed with me if you hadn't thought you're gonna have a baby?"  
Evelyn though for a moment how to answer this wisely and convincingly, while her boyfriend interpreted it as not knowing what to say.  
"I'm with you now and I'm not pregnant."  
Danny looked at her, thinking for a moment. Then he smiled slightly: "That's right."  
She looked into his brown eyes and nodded.  
His smile grew bigger until he could help but laugh his sorrow off and close her into his arms.  
He felt her warm body against his. It felt so good and so familiar.  
Evelyn finally let a tear slip from her eyes cherishing his embrace.  
They just sat there and hugged until Danny gave Evelyn a gentle kiss, which was more than just a plane kiss. It sealed their relationship and made their bond even stronger.  
After a while Evelyn whispered:  
"I'm sorry, Danny."  
"No, don't be!" he frowned: "I am."  
Surprised she looked at him: "Why?"  
"Because you're not...pregnant."  
She smiled: "That's cute."  
Then she added with a slightly naughty tone: "Maybe we can work on that once your fine again."  
"Maybe." He teased.  
Then he looked at her and carefully touched her cheek: "Maybe."  
They spent another while just sitting together on the beach.  
  
(Oh, I'm hopelessly romantic. I had something completely planned but it just turned out this way. It's the fault of all of you who asked for it, kinda...) 


End file.
